Hairopoulos: It’s Baylor and 63 other teams as women’s NCAA Tournament field revealed

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Baylor Bears center Brittney Griner (42) blocks a shot from Iowa State Cyclones guard Nikki Moody (4) in the second half of play during the Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on March 11, 2013. Baylor Bears defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 75-47.

ESPN boiled down the most important storyline in the
NCAA women’s basketball tournament to a hashtag when the 64-team bracket was
revealed on-air Monday.

It read #BaylorVsField.

With dominant Brittney Griner leading the way for the top-seeded Lady Bears
in her final season, it’s unknown if any opponent has the ability to thwart
their attempt to win a second straight national title.

But now the road to New Orleans is laid out for all to try, with Texas
A&M and Texas Tech included in the field. SMU, as expected, did not earn a
berth after winning the Conference USA regular season but falling in the league
tournament.

Baylor (32-1) will host 16-seed Prairie View A&M (17-14), winners of the
SWAC tournament, at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Ferrell Center. The winner will play
the winner of No. 8 Florida State-No. 9 Princeton in the second round at 8:30
p.m. Tuesday in Waco.

“Nothing’s really different this year,” Griner said on the selection show.
“Our main goal is go out and win these six games and a get a national
championship.”

If Baylor advances to the regional games in Oklahoma City, it could then face
No. 4 Purdue and then No.3 UCLA or No. 2 Tennessee if the seeding holds up.

Baylor knocked off Tennessee in last season’s regional final, in legendary
coach Pat Summitt’s final game, on the way to the Final Four and its 40-0
season.

Joining Baylor as No. 1 seeds are Stanford, Connecticut and Notre Dame, the
same No. 1 seeds from 2012. All advanced to the Final Four a season ago. The
Lady Bears defeated UConn and Notre Dame earlier this season — and suffered
their only loss in the last two seasons to Stanford, 71-69, on Nov. 16 in
Hawaii.

Texas A&M (24-9), which won the SEC tournament, earned a No. 3 seed and
will host No. 14 Wichita State (24-9) at 3:05 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena.
Wichita State is making its first-ever appearance in the tournament. The winner
will play the winner of No. 6-Nebraska-No. 11 Chattanooga at 8:30 p.m. Monday,
also in College Station.

The Aggies were placed in the Norfolk Region with No. 1 Notre Dame, which
A&M defeated in the championship game to win the 2011 title. While that’s a
potential regional final rematch, the placement means there can’t be another
Baylor-A&M showdown before the championship game. The Aggies are the last
team to defeat Baylor in the NCAA Tournament, in 2011. A&M has earned a
4-seed or better for seven-straight seasons.

Texas Tech is also hosting the first and second rounds. The No. 7 Lady
Raiders (21-10) will play No. 10 South Florida (21-10) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at
United Spirit Arena. The winner will play the winner of No. 2 California-No. 15
Fresno State at 8:30 p.m. Monday in Lubbock. Tech is in the Spokane Region with
Stanford. Tech is 19-1 at home in the NCAA Tournament.

Seven Big 12 teams, including Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, earned berths in
the tournament, a best-case scenario for the league. A&M was also one of
seven teams selected from the SEC.

Follow Kate Hairopoulos on Twitter at @khairopoulos

No. 1 three-peat

This is the third straight season the Baylor women earned a No. 1 seed in the
NCAA Tournament and the second they are the overall top seed.

2013: open vs. Prairie View at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the
first round